Yolo County farms win gold at international competition

Olive oil blends from three Yolo County farms received awards at the New York International Olive Oil Competition, an annual event that evaluates oils from all over the world.

From April 8 to 11, an international panel of expert olive oil tasters evaluated a collection of 651 oils from 25 countries in 24 different categories. Out of the vast number of submissions, three farms from Yolo County received awards.

The Olive Press, a Sonoma company, received the highest honor among the three, winning a Best in Class award for an extra virgin olive oil made from Picual olives purchased from the Capay Valley.

Road 79 Ventures, a farm off of County Road 79 in Capay, sold the Picual olives to the Olive Press in November 2013, according to Jean Chevalier, one of the Road 79's founders. After which, the olives were almost immediately processed and turned into the winning product.

Chevalier said that the time it takes to get the olives processed is "critical," creating variations in the quality and taste of the oil. He attributes the Best in Class win, in part, to the speed that the olives were harvested and processed.

"We don't do anything extra special or different," Chevalier said. "I think our growing area has a lot to do with it, and the way we farm it, the irrigation we use."

Road 79 Ventures has sold olives to the Olive Press since 2008, but their business relationship has recently dissolved. Their win is one of two from the Capay Valley.

Grumpy Goats, a 20-acre farm in Capay, won a gold award for a Coratina olive oil, a robust blend made from Coratina olive trees that were first planted in 2008.

Pamela Marvel, co-owner of Grumpy Goats Farm, said she was amazed to learn that their olive oil won gold, considering this was the first year they entered the international competition.

The farm specializes in three types of olives, Coratina, Pendolino, and Picual. Marvel chose to enter the Coratina oil both because it is their most abundant crop, and because it has a milder flavor than the other two varieties.

The small farm has had other victories, in both Los Angeles and Yolo County Fair competitions as well as from the California Olive Oil Council. Marvel entered all three of the oil varieties in this year's Yolo County Fair competition, which will be judged with others on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the fairgrounds.

According to Marvel, her farm is fairly new but expanding. She just placed an order for an additional 1,500 trees to be planted, providing a wider selection of olives to use for the oils.

"There is an awful lot of good olive oil in California," Marvel said. "But a lot of people don't enter these contests. California oil is still a work in progress."

Hillstone Olive Oil, a company in Yolo, also took home a gold award for a robust blend of Arbequino and Koroneiki olives. It was their company's first time entering the competition as well.

"I was elated when I saw we won gold," said Laurie Schuler-Flynn, co-owner of Hillstone. She said she was hopeful that their oil would win something, but realized that there was a great deal of competition from all over the globe.

The company planted its first olive trees back in 2004, specializing in Arbequino, a Spanish variety and Koroneiki, a Greek variety. Hillstone takes an artisan approach, closely monitoring the production of the trees in a 3-acre lot. Schuler-Flynn believes that producing in smaller quantities maximizes the overall quality of the oil.

Hillstone also submitted three oils to the Yolo County Fair this year, one being the same blend of Arbequino and Koroneiki olives that won them gold in New York.